Caltagirone

A city in colour

In Caltagirone, traditional pottery production is linked to a thousand-year-old history dating back to ancient times.
According to the Italian archaeologist Paolo Orsi the production of maiolica preceded the arrival of the Arabs, but we know for sure that their arrival in the 9th century increased production, thanks to the introduction of a new technique – glazing – which made the pottery waterproof and more resistant.
A few centuries later, during the Spanish rule of Alfonso of Aragon, pottery trade had greatly developed and allowed artisans to sell their ceramics all over the island.
Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1693 interrupted the potters’ activity and destroyed many of the floors made with the maiolica of Caltagirone.
Today some of the fragments are preserved in the Museum of Ceramics.
foto facciata museo  dei vasi fuori il museo
After the earthquake, decorative motifs were replaced in order to make trade flourish again. In the 19th century, however, with the introduction of cement, the production of maiolica stopped.
The potters’ centuries-old activity ended when the last master potters disappeared in the 1930s.
In 1918 Don Luigi Sturzo founded the Istituto d’Arte della Ceramica (Institute of Ceramic Art) and saved a tradition that seemed destined to be lost. In 1965 the Museum of Ceramics was inaugurated, a safe place that preserved and protected a priceless cultural heritage.
foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo

A prominent church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

New roads for Catania

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A talking palace

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A small room with a golden entrance

The Staircase of Angels

The church of Carmine

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new site for a new church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

A miniature city

The two churches

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A triumph of colour

The Burgos crucifix

Many owners, one palace

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The internal colours

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The interior and its masterpieces

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The theatre of taste

Feast days

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A long reconstruction

The Baroque town by the sea

The colours of the cathedral

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

Norman apses

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

A hall for the feasts

One city, three sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A colourful floor

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Two illustrious patron saints

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

Discovering the mother church

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

An eagle-shaped city

A museum to save a tradition

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feasting in Palazzolo

Between white and black

A city in colour

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family